Garden Provides Sunlight in the Seattle Gloom

Last night it rained so hard we were woken up by the sound of the rain beating on our metal roof. The weatherman gave a glimmer of hope, "possible sun breaks late this afternoon."

The rain stopped long enough for me to meet up with my friend, Kim, and take my dog for a walk.

Most of the gardens in the Northwest are pretty bleak this time of year. I walk by garden after garden and there is leaf debris, twigs and bare branches. One garden that I pass by, however, is a ray of sunshine.

With brilliant planning, my neighbors have planted their garden with multiple layers: grasses with blades of lemon yellow; red comes in the form of a Coral Bark Maple and in the leaves of the Nandina "Heavenly Bamboo"; and lime green ground cover, Sedum Rupestre "Angelina".

The garden is lovely and maybe it will be the only "sunbreak" I have today.